2 Nephi 10:20

"And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea."
2 Nephi 10:20


This is good stuff.  God drives us out of our land of inheritance sometimes.  Things happen to us that seem tragic, or just not what we had in mind.  Lehi's family was rich, and they had a great future ahead of them in some ways.  But then God called Lehi to be a prophet... and it is hard to be popular with your peers when you have to tell them how wicked they are. :)  I am sure that Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi (Lehi's sons) all had some investment in the community, all had some mental future, being the sons of a rich man with good social standing.  It is a hard thing to give up your life and go into the wilderness.  They wandered for years, and it was a difficult life.  Often, members of the group murmured and wondered why God was dealing with them the way he has... but in the end, God gave them the promised land.  Their lives and the lives of their children for generations to come were made better... infinitely better in many ways... then they would have been had they remained.  I guess my point is, God sees the big picture.  It isn't easy when we lose all of our Gold to the local politician and have to leave our vision of what we wanted the future to be behind.  It isn't easy wandering around lost for years... but still, despite all... God knows what he is doing.  If God takes away a future, it is only because he has a better one in store.  It is hard to let go of the future you know.  The one that you are familiar with, even when it doesn't seem all that great, is hard to part with.  Like that old game show, "Let's Make a Deal."  Do you want to keep what you have, or go for what is behind curtain #2?  The Lord's game show is better though... when we do as he asks, we are *always* trading up.  It's hard of course, when you gave up the $1000 and the curtain opens to reveal a farm in Iowa.  Just because it is worth more doesn't always mean that we can appreciate it. :)  So, let's learn to appreciate God's deals... and remember that he is leading us toward the promised land every day.  We just have to trust him.